NIntendo Switch 2: The Switchening

I don’t usually discuss hardware because this is a site dedicated to stories. However, the last few video game related articles I’ve done have been going over terrible games like Suicide Squad: Kill Your Heroes or Assassin’s Creed: We Ruined That Japanese Game You Kept Begging For. I want to bring up happier things, so we’re doing this.

Yes, Nintendo is ready to drop it’s sequel to the Switch, with the uncreative name of Switch 2. Someone won a contest for “can we think of a lamer next console name than Wii U”. Good on them. Come on, guys, gives something more interesting. Switchtastic or something. I don’t care. I know it’s just an upgrade to the original with not a lot of new things…and that’s what interest me.

Nintendo stopped chasing better graphics and went for more interesting gameplay with the original Nintendo Wii, and it forced Sony and Microsoft to suddenly play with technology on their systems at the time. With Switch 2, as you see in the trailer, there are some minor new features, but they seem to be more interested in upping the existing tech rather than adding some new feature, unless you count doubling as a mouse as a new feature. I’m going to grab bits from Nintendo’s four-article “Ask The Developer” feature on their news site because…well, it’s easier for a text site to comment on text than a long video. In it, producer Kouichi Kawamoto, Switch 2 director Takuhiro Dohta, both from the Entertainment Planning & Development department and Tetsuya Sasaki, general manager of the technology development division, go over what can be expected from Switch 2: Electric You All Know This Gag By Now. I’ll link to all four articles, though I’ll only bring up the parts that interest me as a mostly-casual gamer and big fan of storytelling.  Otherwise this would read Seduction Of The Innocent levels of analysis. What can the new Switch do that the old one can’t besides take up more room on your TV stand and be slightly harder to take with you?

Part 1: Providing new and unprecedented gameplay experiences

Thank you very much. Now, let’s jump right into the first question. This will be Nintendo’s first dedicated gaming console in eight years since Switch. When did you begin development on Switch 2? And how does the development of a game console start?

Kawamoto: The three of us started working together on the new hardware project around 2019. But as far as the core development of Switch 2 goes, I recall that research and development had already started even before the project formally kicked off, right?

Sasaki: That’s right. We knew that we would continue to develop new gaming consoles even after the launch of Switch, so we needed to get ahead of ourselves and start sowing the seeds of ideas for what we could do with the next console. Hardware development takes time, and if we didn’t start early, the software development environment, known as the Software Development Kit, that’s needed afterwards wouldn’t be ready in time. We started by actively gathering information each day on different kinds of technology and the results they could achieve. In that sense, you could say that we began the development even before 2019.

Kawamoto: When we start development, rather than attempting to create the entire console from the outset, we focus on the elements that will take the most time and effort. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to provide developers with a Software Development Kit for creating games, and software development wouldn’t be completed in time.

Sasaki: Exactly. Without constant preparation, we wouldn’t be able to develop hardware and software in a timely manner.

Of course they’re going to make more consoles. That’s what Nintendo really makes the money from, and gamers demand more and more interesting things from their games that eventually a current console won’t be able to pull off, though I’ve seen fan games pull off some amazing things just for fun. It’s not like they’re just going to be upgradable. What do you think they are, computers?

I mean…technically…

However, that doesn’t mean Switch is perfect. There were times when we wished the Switch system’s processor was faster so that we could provide new and unprecedented gameplay experiences. I think the processor we chose to implement in Switch during its development was the best option at the time. However, as time went on, we began to realize that it didn’t necessarily mean developers could make any kind of game they wanted with it.

Kawamoto has a point here, as that’s what Nintendo has been shooting for since the Wii. To create new ways to play games, meaning developers (if they weren’t lazy schmucks and many of them are) could come up with new exciting forms of gameplay. However, those sch…I mean developers don’t like having to dumb down their graphics to introduce motion controls that the other systems won’t implement despite every system now having wireless motion controls, cameras, and microphones (something Nintendo dropped when the brought the Famicom to the US, losing a game mechanic from the original The Legend Of Zelda) as everyone started a tech war for a bit to compete with Nintendo and the Wii.

Dohta-san, I’d also like to ask you to share your view as a software developer. Like Kawamoto-san, were there moments that made you wish the processing speed was a little faster?

Dohta: Definitely. Hardware performance and software development always have a relationship of pulling ahead of and falling behind each other. What I mean is that when new hardware comes out and processing power improves, software development can also take advantage of that and take on new challenges. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was originally developed for Wii U, so it was created with the Wii U system’s capabilities in mind. However, with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, we could create a world in the sky and underground since the performance had improved for Switch. To add to that, the ability to fuse objects together to create new ones was also made possible because of the Switch system’s capabilities.

However, as software developers continue to take on these kinds of challenges, their technical capabilities improve and ideas expand, and then what they hope to do ends up surpassing what the hardware’s processing power can handle. Hardware with an expanded processing capability is a blessing for software developers who want to challenge themselves to create new gameplay experiences that are unimaginable today.

You saw in the trailer that the focus was on the larger screen, more storage space, minor improvements to existing features like how the Joy-Cons connect to the unit, and not really any new technologies. Even the mouse replication is a continuation of existing sensors following the Joy-Cons as you move them around, which was used for the Wii, while the screen has improved from the Wii U and Switch 1.

Kawamoto: There have been cases, such as the Ring-Con in Ring Fit Adventure, where we’ve offered a unique experience by including an accessory with the game, and it was well-received by players, so we wondered whether Switch 2 would really need a new hardware feature.

I admittedly don’t know a lot about Ring Fit Adventures but we have seen other games as far back as the original NES create exclusive peripherals that nobody really took advantage of, and other game publishers tried to come out with their own. Sometimes you get the Power Glove…

Sorry, I used to be part of a review aggregate site and want to get back to making my own videos in the future. I’m still required by law to do that. Anyway, sometimes you get the Power Glove and sometimes you get the Laserscope. Remembering I’m not cool, guess which one I ended up with.

Sasaki: Just to be clear, we’re not saying that Nintendo will never develop gaming consoles with new and unique hardware features in the future. We made that choice this time because, rather than equipping the new console with new hardware features, we thought we’d have the option to offer new gameplay experiences by packaging additional accessories together with games, just as we bundled the Ring-Con with Ring Fit Adventure.

That’s probably the better way to go. It may lead to a box of peripherals in your (insert where you play video games besides an arcade here) space but if they add something to the games, why not? I wish I had a good steering wheel for driving games and a joystick for playing pre-NES games like Pac-Man. (My dad wouldn’t mind one of those, either.) Dohta agrees with the unnamed interviewer that this frees them up to focus on the system side and making sure such peripherals have a strong enough game system to make them work. They might even integrate or improve on them in the next console.

“I’ll make this part fit somehow!” (Sorry, just breaking the text wall.)

Part 2: Redesigning everything from scratch

The only thing that drew my attention here, and that’s why I’m linking for the rest of you to read at your leisure, is this part about the mouse feature and how it will work with some upcoming games.

Kawamoto: Using Metroid Prime 4: Beyond  as an example, since there are two controllers, you can use the left Joy-Con 2 to move your character around with the control stick, while using the right Joy-Con 2 as a mouse to aim and shoot. By using two Joy-Con 2 controllers, we can make games like Drag x Drive, and we can even create gameplay experiences where two players use mouse controls, like in Super Mario Party™ Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV. This makes it possible to enjoy a wider variety of games.

It’s also mentioned that in TV connected mode it could serve as a replacement for the touch screen, which would be covered and on the other side of the room while you use the Joy-Cons or that joypad emulating unit you connect the Joy-Cons to. Take one off and use it as a mouse.

“I’m going to have to see…wait, would this be a gun or driving license?”

Part 3: Inherently added value

Kawamoto: This time, you can chat with others and play the same or different games using the console’s features. There’s also a new feature that’s been added to the console, which was born from our experience developing software remotely for a time due to COVID-19. Back then, we were using a video conferencing system to check the software we were developing with our team, but the screen-sharing function built into the video conferencing system only allowed us to share one gameplay screen at a time. So, we had each person place their game screen in front of their camera instead of their faces. When we did that, it felt like we were all in the same place, each bringing our own console to play the game together, which was a lot of fun. Based on this experience, we proposed adding a feature to Switch 2 where people can share their gameplay screen with other players.

I imagine group let’s plays could use a feature like that. Otherwise you have to open multiple windows, put them side by side (easier on PC but I don’t know if Mac developed that and you can’t do that on a smart TV or tablet…phone would be way too small), decide whose audio to listen to, and hope you opened them up close enough together that the feeds line up close together. Something to be considered.

When the software developers heard about the new chat feature, did you see potential in it?

Dohta: We felt that having this new chat function implemented directly into the hardware could offer something new to players without any additional effort from the software developers. We also thought it might lead to the discovery of a completely different way to play games. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was originally developed for the Wii U home console, but by making it available on Switch, we created the value of “being able to play anywhere.” It might be taken for granted these days, but when a game that could only be played on a TV suddenly became playable anywhere, it felt like the software experience reached a new level, even though we, as software developers, hadn’t added anything. Being able to play in both TV mode and handheld mode may seem like a normal thing now, but back then, I thought it was amazing.

Similarly, GameChat, a new feature for this console, inherently adds value and is automatically available for all games that are compatible with Switch 2. Of course, you can use it to play online with friends, but even with single-player games, you can share your screen with others and get them to help you come up with strategies, or give you tips when you’re stuck. Or, if you see your friend playing a game that you aren’t familiar with, it may spark your interest in that game, and you can ask them about it.

Not my field of expertise, but I wonder how this tech could improve or how much was inspired by existing current video conference call software?

When you live far away from the game store and don’t trust delivery.

Part 4: A new standard

I’m sure that those who already own Nintendo Switch games will be delighted that they can play them on Nintendo Switch 2. Did you already decide on this functionality when you were first planning the development of a new dedicated game system?

Kawamoto: Right from the beginning, we wanted the new system to be able to play Switch games, but back then, we were told there’d be technical challenges.

Dohta: When we first started Switch 2 development, the focus was on enhancing its performance as hardware, namely, expanding its capacity. So, compatibility was a lower priority. For example, Nintendo DS games were playable on Nintendo 3DS, and Wii games were playable on Wii U, but it was difficult to achieve the same level of compatibility with Switch 2, because the hardware design approach was different from those systems.

Sasaki: It’s tricky to explain… Maybe the easiest way to understand it is that the methods used to achieve compatibility between Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, and between Switch and Switch 2, are completely different.

Kawamoto: Simply put, those systems were compatible because Nintendo 3DS contained Nintendo DS hardware and Wii U contained Wii hardware. However, Switch 2 doesn’t contain any Switch hardware.

Does that mean that Switch and Switch 2 aren’t compatible at a hardware level?

Sasaki: Exactly. This time, we decided to take on the challenge of using new technology to run Switch games.

Dohta: If we tried to use technology like software emulators, we’d have to run Switch 2 at full capacity, but that would mean the battery wouldn’t last so long, so we did something that’s somewhere in between a software emulator and hardware compatibility.

Now this is a concern. Gamers always complain when a new system isn’t backwards compatible with older systems. It’s tougher on Nintendo because they tend to prefer cartridges because they’re harder to rip and emulate for piracy and it’s a format they can more easily control than the CD-Rom and its heirs. That’s why they went back to cartridges for the original Switch while the DS’s wouldn’t work with a CD anything due to how delicate they are. As it is you probably still can’t use old cartridges in Switch 2 from any other system besides the Switch. That means having multiple consoles or one of those third-party multi-system emulation devices of varying quality. I don’t expect Switch 2 to run NES or Gamecube, but the Switch 1 play better be spotless. Nobody wants to stop playing their favorite games, but I’m also in the midst of a long-term declutter project and while I’m no minimalist I wouldn’t want a ton of consoles out there in case I might want to play Wii Sports U again…if I had a Wii U or that game.

Sasaki: There are some games that ran well due to the Switch system’s hardware configuration. Switch 2, on the other hand, has increased processing capabilities and an expanded memory capacity, which could theoretically cause some of those games to stop working. We weren’t so confident at first, but as we tested games one by one, we found out that some issues could be solved by making improvements. This process helped us build confidence that, while we might not be able to solve everything, we can work it out for many games.

Does that mean you’re checking each game from the huge library of Switch titles to make sure they’re all compatible?

Sasaki: Oh yes… We’re checking them all, one by one. More than 10,000 games* in total.

Ten thousand?! That’s a huge number.

Kawamoto: Even with all those checks, it might not be that all Switch games run perfectly in time for the launch of Switch 2, but we will continue our efforts so that we can support as many Switch games as possible. Of course, it’s not physically possible to support certain games like the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04 VR Kit, which was designed to fit the dimensions of the Switch hardware, as the sizes don’t match.

Don’t toss out your current Switch just yet, kids.

However, we haven’t touched on the name yet… How did you land on the name “Nintendo Switch 2”?

Kawamoto: There were a lot of ideas for the name, and we really struggled to find the right one.

We even considered ideas like “Super Nintendo Switch.” However, Super NES, which came out after the NES, couldn’t play NES games. Since Switch 2 can play Switch games, it didn’t feel right to use the same naming convention as Super NES. Switch 2 is a new system with improved performance, but we’d like players who get their hands on it not to focus on the specs, but rather to think of it as the latest system developed by Nintendo.

So, in the hope that it becomes the new standard for Nintendo Switch, we named it Nintendo Switch 2.

The other two chime in as well, but you get the point. I don’t know. It still sounds weak.

So those are the highlights for me. I didn’t have the time to check on what gamers are saying, though the few videos that popped up seemed to be leaning negative in their titles. Tomorrow I’ll watch a few of those and try to understand gamer reactions to Switch 2 and why the initial excitement didn’t get recommended in my YouTube feed.